King Ahaz of Judah was a notably bad and faithless ruler. He had images of the Baals cast for people to worship; following the “abominable practices” of the heathen nations, he practiced child sacrifice with his own sons; he burned incense in all kinds of local fertility rituals (II Chronicles 28:1-4).

“Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with great slaughter” (28:5-6). The “therefore” reveals to us the Chronicler’s theological understanding: the faithlessness of Ahaz did not escape God’s notice, but rather drew an obvious response wherein the whole nation suffered because of the king’s idolatry.

In addition to the “great slaughter” that fell upon the men of Judah, the soldiers of the northern kingdom of Israel also captured 200,000 women and children civilians as slaves (28:8). Then the Samaritan prophet Oded stood up against the army, declaring that Israel had defeated Judah because God was angry with Judah for its sins: but Israel’s sins were also great, and if they did not let these captives return home, they too would experience the fierce wrath of the Lord (28:9-11).

His words might have fallen on deaf ears: soldiers who have just taken plunder are not famous for their readiness to give back their loot. Yet Oded’s words were sufficient to persuade several of the chieftains of Ephraim, and soon they too were insisting that the women and children must be released: and so these civilian captives were escorted back to Judah (28:12-15). We know nothing more about this Oded, yet he stands as one of the heroes of the faith, with the courage to oppose the whole army to persuade them to obey the Lord.

* * * * *

When it seems that I would be the only one standing for the truth, O Lord, give me the courage to speak it, and to believe that there may well be others who are ready to speak up if only I will go first.

If you find these studies helpful, please Like, Subscribe, Comment, and Share. Thanks!